Minocqua sex offender fails registry, new sex crime charges filed

A registered sex offender living in Minocqua has failed to keep up with regulations under state law and now faces new charges, including having photos of female children being near a middle school, in Oneida County Circuit Court.

Matthew K. Kummer, 48, was convicted of one charge possessing child pornography in late 2008 when living in Rhinelander. He was initially charged with 17 of the same counts. All but the one was dismissed and read into the record for sentencing with Judge Mark Mangerson. He had pled not guilty. His registration was set to end in 2026.

Based on the new charges, Kummer arrived in late October at Rhinelander’s middle school in a delivery truck. When asked who he was and why he was there by an on-duty Oneida County Sheriff’s Department deputy, Kummer said he was “Matthew” and there to pick up a daughter of a friend. The deputy questioned if Kummer had permission to pick up the child — he did — but also found he was a registered sex offender and had not provided notice to nor received permission from school authorities to be at the school. Registration rules for sex offenders require those factors.

Kummer admitted to the deputy he was a registered sex offender and had not provided notice or gotten permission. Kummer was placed under arrest and his cell phone searched. A deputy found “many photos” and videos of pre-pubescent females in swim and street clothing, primarily taken from behind the children. A deputy noted the photos were not downloaded, but taken with the phone camera. At least two were able to be matched with two public areas within Oneida County, the criminal complaint states.

The cell phone of Kummer also contained screen shots and other images of pre-pubescent females in lingerie or other clothing posing in “suggestive manner(s),” the complaint reads.

Further, Kummer’s cell phone had an email address with active use, despite Kummer never having registered it with authorities, as he was required to do as a convicted sex offender, court records read.

A search of Kummer’s apartment resulted in a USB flash drive with more than 23,000 images. Several of them were of pre-pubescent females in sexually exploit or suggestive poses, some fully or partially nude. There was no written permission from the children’s parents for Kummer to have the photos, the complaint states.

When interviewed, Kummer acknowledged to deputies “… he is attracted to girls as young as 7,” and that he did not have permission to take or possess the photos he had, the complaint states.

Kummer now faces felonies, fail to maintain sex offender register, two counts registered sex offender intentionally photographing a minor without consent and 10 counts possession of child pornography and misdemeanor knowingly failing to notify a school of sex offender status. He was in court for an adjourned initial appearance Monday, Nov. 4 before Judge Michael Bloom. He is in custody on a $100,000 cash bond.

According to Wisconsin Sex Offender database, Kummer lives at 8614 US Highway 51 in apartment 3 in Minocqua. That was last updated in February of this year. His address is the same on Wisconsin Circuit Court’s website — with apartment 4 as the only change.

Kummer has prior convictions of criminal damage to property in Lincoln and Oneida counties as well as a history of restraining orders taken out against him.